Asleep by Midnight
by C.A. Elenath
Summary: No one should spend the holidays alone—a small glimpse at Syd and Sky’s earlier days in the Academy.


**Disclaimer**: _Non-profit entertainment._

**Author's Note**: _This story takes place before the time frame of the canon series. This is my contribution to the slew of holiday fanfics that came out. Yes, I know mine's the straggler._

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**Asleep by Midnight**

Christmas Eve had been spent at a lavish holiday party in a gorgeous new Valentino evening gown. Christmas been spent at home with lush presents under the tree and both her parents home for once. Two days after Christmas had been spent at a rich ski resort, again with both parents present and a few of her favorite cousins.

Ten for ten, it had been a perfect holiday for Sydney Drew. True, her parents weren't sticking around for New Year's, but five days was the longest consecutive time her father had spent at home in a while, this time even with a limited amount of business-related interruptions. As a high-powered executive, he had to spend 98 percent of the year traveling, and New Year's was no exception. It was a party disguised as a 'business function', he'd said. He also said that apparently, people were more willing to consider risky decisions at the beginning of a new year, when time seemed to begin afresh and the other execs were drunk on the prospect of an even more prosperous year—among other things. It was a good time for shaking hands and pitching proposals. Sydney's mother was going with her husband for appearance's sake.

That left Sydney with an empty house for New Year's, and to her own surprise, she ended up spending it in the Academy. Cadets weren't officially due back until January 3rd, but she had finally been promoted to B level back in November, and it was important now more than ever that she prove she was capable of being a Power Ranger. She put in some extra time on the simulator and looked at upcoming seminars that might be useful to take. She reviewed the procedures for patrolling assignments, which she'd be getting a lot more of now that she was a B squad cadet.

The Academy, while still with a fair share of staff, technicians, and cadets milling around, was practically deserted compared to its usual population. Sydney found the whole place a little eerie when it was so quiet, and was disappointed that none of her friends were around. It would have been just as lonely staying at home with only the house staff for company, but at least here, she had productive things she could do.

The morning of New Year's Eve, she passed by the Command Center on her way to the simulator room, and was surprised to see a familiar face. Or rather, a familiar back of the head. Sky Tate, the senior B level cadet she'd been assigned to work with on a squad, was standing at one of the consoles, hands moving methodically back and forth over the keys as he stared at a screen in front of him. There were also two technicians in the room, working on consoles on the opposite side of the octagonal room.

Sky wasn't what you'd call a friendly character; he was the extreme no-nonsense sort with a lot of records under his belt and not a whole lot of personality. Still, he was the first familiar face Sydney had seen in two days, and he _was_ her team member besides, so she decided to go in and say hello. He glanced over briefly at her approaching footfalls and gave her a barely discernible nod of acknowledgement before turning back to the console.

"Hey Sky," she said pleasantly, going to stand beside him. "What are you doing here?"

"Organizing old profiles," he answered shortly, and when he saw that she wasn't leaving, he reciprocated her question. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I was on my way to the simulator."

"Oh really." Though it was very mild, there was a hint of surprise in his tone. When they'd first met, Sky had thought she was nothing more than a spoiled Daddy's girl—and had said so on one occasion.

"Yes," she replied, her chin lifting a tiny bit even though he couldn't see it. "How was your Christmas?"

"Okay."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

"Did you go home?"

"No."

He never once looked away from his work, and it surprised her he even heard her questions correctly.

"You just sat around the Academy all day?"

"I put in some time on the zord sim."

For Sky, 'some' could mean anywhere from one to fifteen hours. And Sydney, who believed wholeheartedly that Christmas was a time to be spent amongst friends and family, or at least doing something enjoyable, felt somewhat appalled by his answer.

"You _trained_ on Christmas day?"

"Yes." He was beginning to sound exasperated now.

"What about your family?"

"They went to Colorado. I didn't feel like going."

"So you were here by yourself?"

"Yes."

Sky didn't seem particularly bothered by it, but then, he never seemed bothered by anything. In contrast, being alone on Christmas was one of the most heartbreaking scenarios Sydney could ever imagine, and even if Sky honestly didn't care, the fact that he'd been alone saddened her nevertheless.

"Weren't you lonely?"

"No." He finally gave her a sideways glance. "Weren't you on your way to the simulator?"

The subtext in his question was clear as day, but she persisted.

"Yes," she answered simply. "Do you have any plans for New Year?"

He sighed slightly. "No."

"Do you want to go watch fireworks?" She had been considering doing that herself.

"Not really." And then an unexpected question. "Is that what you're doing?"

"Maybe. I haven't decided yet."

He just nodded this time, unresponsive without a direct question to answer. She sighed silently and turned to go. "I guess I'll see you around."

"Bye."

As she continued on her way to the simulator room, she decided the encounter wasn't a complete waste. She'd gotten some interaction with another human, even if it couldn't quite be considered human interaction. More like a robotic chat. And on a purely superficial level, Sky wasn't bad to look at. Her first thought the first time she saw him was that he was sex appeal waiting to happen if he could turn that intensity he had from military to smoldering. Of course, after she got to know him a little, she saw the chances of that happening were slim to negative. But he was definitely a looker.

When evening rolled around, two simulator sessions and a bit of room redecorating later, Sydney decided she didn't want to go out after all. She did want to see fireworks, but she didn't feel like bundling up, heading all the way down to the river, and then having to return to the Academy at a late hour. More especially, she didn't want to do all of the above alone.

There was always the television in the common room, where she could watch celebrations from all around the country. But then she had a better idea. She might be able to see the New Tech fireworks from the top of the Academy. It was one of the tallest structures in the city, though the glare from surrounding city lights might prove to be a problem. She decided it was worth a try.

At 11:45 pm, she pulled on her winter jacket and headed towards the lift. A brief passing thought did enter her mind about where Sky might be lurking in the Academy at this hour, and on an impulse, she hurried towards the male dormitory floor.

The nightlock was set on his door, which she took to mean that he was inside. Sure enough, the door slid open at his command, and she found him sitting on his bed in sweatpants and a t-shirt, the SPD manual held open in one hand. His blanket was unfolded, and the only light in the room was from the small reading lamp on the bed stand. Obviously he'd been settling down for bed.

"Is something wrong?" he asked immediately, making her think of those worst-case scenario handbooks. Actually, what he'd done was misinterpret the strange expression on her face. She'd been momentarily distracted by his t-shirt, which was fitted enough to show an obviously well-developed torso.

"No," she said, pulling her eyes up to his green ones, which in her opinion were the other best part about his looks. "I came by to ask if you wanted to watch fireworks with me from the roof."

"Not really," he said. "I was actually just about to go to sleep."

"I guessed that much." He looked so disinterested that she nearly said good night and left when the image of him going through this exact routine, only on Christmas Eve and without anyone to say good night or even Merry Christmas, crossed her mind. The alarm clock by his bed read 11:48 pm.

Only children who didn't believe in Santa were asleep by midnight on Christmas Eve. She thought of her younger years, when she would stay up until two or three am despite her parents' best efforts to coax her to sleep, in hopes of hearing silver bells, a thump of hooves, or perhaps the rustle of presents being placed under the tree.

Of course she didn't believe in Santa Claus anymore, but the idea still charmed her utterly. Even now she liked to stay up into the wee hours of the night on Christmas Eve because even if there was no visit from good ol' St. Nick, there was just something enchanted about that particular night of the year. There always seemed at least a promise of something magical happening.

In three days, cadets would come rumbling back into the Academy and share their grievances that the holiday break was over. In three days, Sky would remember the holiday season as two annoying weeks without enough work to do. Had he even had a present to open on Christmas morning?

It really wasn't any of her business how he'd spent his holiday, and she knew that not everyone thought of Christmas the same way she did. But still, there was just something unforgivable about Sky spending the entire season of celebration alone.

"It would make me really happy if you'd join me," she told him, not that he had any reason to care about her happiness. The expression he looked at her with was curious but wary, as if he suspected her of some ulterior motive. She could tell he was on the verge of refusing. "Just for a little while?"

He cast his gaze downward to the floor, as he often did when he was contemplating something.

"Fine," he caved, and reached for his shoes which sat neatly side by side at the foot of the bed.

She watched him put them on and then reach into the small closet for a sweatshirt, knowing there was more than just a remote possibility she'd make him more miserable by pushing him to do something he didn't really want to do in the first place. That put a damper on her benevolent spirit, but it didn't make her regret her actions.

They didn't talk on the lift ride up to the top floor, or while they were mounting the service stairwell that led up to the rooftop. Sydney did notice, however, that Sky let her step in and out of the lift first, and opened both doors of the stairwell for her. For all his austerity, he knew the manners of a gentleman. This was a new detail for her.

The wind that blew across the roof was brisk with the chill of winter and altitude. Immediately Sydney began shivering and hunched her shoulders, jamming her hands into her coat pockets as she approached the western edge.

"It should be starting soon," she called over the wind, every word marked by a little white puff in the air. Sky merely nodded in return.

They stood close together for warmth, hands balled in tight fists in their pockets as they waited for the first signs of fireworks.

"What's your favorite holiday?" asked Sydney when the silence became too uncomfortable.

"I don't have one. What's yours?"

"Christmas," she answered instantly.

"I might have guessed." Did he just chuckle? "How was your Christmas this year?"

"Fabulous," she turned a little so she could look at him, glad that he seemed a little more open this time. "We had a party on Christmas Eve, and then Daddy was actually home all day on Christmas day, and then we went skiing."

"Is he usually gone?"

"Usually. He travels a lot, and it's rare that he's home for nearly a week."

"Must've been nice." His voice held an unexpected sad note that she didn't understand.

"What about you?" she ventured cautiously, at the same time hoping to learn a little more about her semi-new teammate. "How come you didn't want to go to Colorado with your family?" She hoped it wasn't too intrusive of a question.

"I didn't want to travel that far," he said mildly.

"But you were all alone on Christmas."

"They called me," he said with a shrug, as if that made a difference.

"Do you have siblings? I'm an only child."

"One," he replied, and after a noticeable pause, "and three stepsiblings. I'm not that comfortable about my stepfamily. One of the reasons I didn't want to go to Colorado. They have a cabin there in the mountains."

A sudden burst of golden sparkles in the distance kept her from replying. The fireworks show was beginning, and as she had hoped, the view from the Academy rooftop was crystal clear if not a little small. For twenty minutes they watched the brilliant display of lights and patterns, distracted enough that they didn't notice so much time had passed. Only when they were back indoors and regaining the feeling in their ears, noses, and hands did they realize they'd been standing outside for half an hour.

"Wasn't that beautiful?" Sydney chirped, blue eyes bright above cheeks reddened from the cold. Fireworks always put her in a good mood. She had loved them on her own to begin with, but the colorful pyrotechnics had taken on a new significance after she'd seen them bursting in her honor after winning her third consecutive world fencing championship.

"I suppose." Sky's bland response earned him a scowl from his shorter teammate, but naturally he was unfazed.

She noticed he was walking her to her room.

"Thanks for keeping me company up there," she said earnestly once they'd reached her door.

"Thanks for the invitation." It might have been her imagination, but for once, his demeanor didn't seem quite so cold.

She smiled. "Anytime."—her door slid open—"I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah. Good night, Syd."

"Good night, Sky."

Only when he was gone and her door was firmly shut behind her did Sydney realize he had just called her by her more familiar, abbreviated name for the first time ever.


End file.
